Index-guide.



J. H. RAND & J. H. RAND, JR.

INDEX GUIDE.

APPLICATION FILED APB.B,1914.

Patented Feb. 9, 1915.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JAMES H. RAND AND JAMES H. RAND, JR, OF NORTH TOIIAWANDA, NEW YORK.

INDEX-GUIDE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Feb. 9, 1915.

Application filed April 8, 1914. Serial'No. 880,510.

To all whom it may concern Beit known that we, JAMES H. RAND and Janus H. RAND, Jr., both citizens of the United States, and residents of North Tonawanda, in the county of Niagara and State of New York, have invented new and useful Improvements in Index-Guides, of which the following is a s ecification.

This invention re ates to index-guides suitable for use in connection with card indexes, leaves of a book, etc., and consists in an index guide having the novel and improved tab and tab sheath, hereinafter described and particularly pointed out in the claims.

In the accompanying drawings, which illustrate certain embodiments of the invention,Figure 1 is a front view of an indexguide suitable for use in a card index system, containing one formof the invention; Fig. 2 is a rear view of saidindex-guide; Fig. 3 is an end view of said index-guide,.viewed from the right of Fig. 1; Fig. 4 is an enlarged sectional view on line H of Fig. 1; Fig. 5 is a perspective view, partly in section, showing a modification of the tab; Fig. 6 is a sectional view on line 66 of Fig. 5;

Fig. 7 is a sectional view of another modification of the tab; and Fig. 8 is a sectional view of still another modification of the tab.

Referring to the drawings, A represents an index-guide, made preferably of sheet metal, having a tab at its upper edge, preferably formed integral with the body of the guide A.

In the construction shown in Figs. 1 to 4 the tab is made from a suitably shaped blank by folding over the metal upon itself at b to form a flat tab face B. The shank of the tab is also bent rearwardly as shown at b so that the tab face B will stand at an angle to the plane of the guide A, in a position most directly to face the eyes of the user. The lower or free edge of the tab face B may be finished by a fold b if desired (Fig. 4) or may terminate without such fold, as illustrated in Fig. 5.

In the form shown in Fig. 7 the flat tab face B is made by being folded upon itself 1 of the tab face B is spaced from the body of the tab and the guide so as to receive the lip of the sheath hereinafter described. Instead of the flat tab face 13, a cylindrical tab face B, as shown in Fig. 8, may be provided by bending the sheet metal over on itself.

C represents a removable sheath of transparent, resilient material, such as sheet celluloid, having two opposed lips c, c, on its longer edges, one of which engages the folded edge b of the tab face, and the other of which engages the free edge of the tab face.

Between the tab face B and the front of the sheath C is a removable index slip D, upon which may be written any desired index characters. In order to remove or insert the index slip D, the sheath C is removed, preferably by slipping it off the tab endwise, though it is possible to spring one of the lips a over the edge of the tab, by reason of the resiliency ofthe sheath material, and remove the sheath in that way.

In the form of the invention shown in Fig. 8, the sheath C is made cylindrical to conform to the cylindrical tab B. In all of the forms the sheath embraces the tab with its retaining lips 0, o, and overlies the face of the tab, protecting-the index slip D.

In order to prevent'the accidental dislodgment of the sheath lengthwise of the tab, we provide stops on the tab, engaging the sheath at each end. These stops preferably consist of knobs s, pressed or struck up from the sheet metal of which the tab is formed,

though they might be formed in other ways; and it is desirable that said knobs engage the ends of one of the lips c of the sheath, though they might engage other parts of the sheath end. Instead of the knobs 8 shown in Figs. 4, 7 and 8, the stop might be made by bending the end of the tab face B downwardly to form a flange s, engaging the end of the sheath. Other forms of stops are within the spirit of our invention. When the knob-like stop 8 is used the sheath may be removed by pushing the sheath endwise on the tab with sufficient force to spring the resilient lip 0 over the stop, whereupon the sheath may be withdrawn by sliding it over the stop. The stop 8 is not adapted to permit the lips c to be sprung over it for withdrawing the sheath endwise, and if such stops are used at both ends of the tab, the lips a must be sprung over the edges of the tab. As this places an excessive strain on the lips of the sheath, especially if done too often, it is desirable that one at least of the stops should be so formed as to permit the resilient sheath to be sprung over it to permit the withdrawal of the sheath endwise.

We claim:

1. An index-guide having a tab, a sheath mounted on said tab, and a stop at each end of the tab normally holding the sheath against lengthwise displacement, said sheath having opposed tab-engaging lips of resilient material adaptedto yield to permit the sheath to be removed from or applied to the tab.

2. An index-guide having a tab, a sheath of resilient material embracing the tab and covering the face thereof, and stops adapted to prevent the accidental displacement of the sheath lengthwise of the tab, one at least of said stops being so formed as to permit the resilient sheath to be sprung over it.

An index-guide having a tab, a removable sheath embracing said tab and covering the face thereof, a stop at each end of the tab adapted to prevent the accidental displacement of the sheath lengthwise of the tab, said sheath and one at least of said stops making yielding engagement with each other whereby the sheath may be withdrawn over said stop.

4. An index-guide having a tab, a sheath mounted on said tab having two opposed tab-engaging lips, and a stop on the rear side of said tab at each end thereof, each stop being adapted to engage the end of one of said lips on the sheath.

5. A metal index-guide having a tab formed integral therewith, a removable sheath of resilient transparent material embracing and covering the face of said tab.

and stops consisting of knobs struck up from the material of said tab, to engage the ends of said sheath.

6. An index-guide having a tab formed of a piece of sheet metal extending upwardly beyond the edge of the body of the gu de, and bent over upon itself upon an axis extending parallel to said edge of the body of the guide, a removable sheath of transparent material embracing said bent tab and covering the face thereof, and an index slip removably held between the face of said tab and said transparent sheath.

7. An index-guide having a tab formed of a piece of sheet metal folded over upon itself to form a flat tab face, the free edge of which is spaced from the body of the tab and guide, and a removable sheath having two opposed lips, one of which engages the folded edge of the tab face and the other f f which engages the free edge of the tab ace.

8. An index-guide having a tab formed of a piece of sheet metal folded over upon itself to form a fiat tab face, arranged at an angle to the plane of the guide, and a removable sheath having two opposed lips, one of which engages the folded edge of ,the tab face and the other of which engages the free edge of the tab face.

Signed by us at North Tonawanda, New York this 1st day of April 1914.

JAMES H. RAND.

, JAMES H. RAND, JR.

\Vitnesses EMMA VoELKEn, Emsannrn MACLAREN. 

